The Senior - 1
Whether some civil servant was poisoning high society at home, or whether a wind of purges was blowing in a foreign land, the Emperor remained buried deep within the Imperial Palace and did not show his face. Had any other monarch displayed such clear signs of preparing an abdication, the whole country would have been in an uproar — but honestly, the current Emperor was the sort of man people would rather tell to get some rest, so it was almost a relief.
From the start of his reign until only a few years ago, the present Emperor had been a workaholic who willingly overworked himself into the ground, and more than a few noble houses had been smashed to pieces by his hand. Leaving him to live like a shut-in was probably better for the mental health of the nobles and civil servants alike.
And when the Emperor plays, the Crown Prince has to run himself ragged. Your Majesty, by all means, follow the path of the Wanli Emperor.
"It has been three hundred years since the Great Emperor received the Mandate of Heaven. In the endless history of the Empire, those three hundred years will be but a single portion, and this very moment is nothing more than a stepping stone toward the future."
Of course, it was a futile prayer. For all that the Emperor kept carefully dumping his workload onto the Crown Prince, he still came out in person to deliver the closing address.
"We are the bridge that receives the legacy of our forebears and passes it on to those who come after. Never forget that, and press forward in unity."
The content of the closing address was ordinary. He had simply mentioned the unity and progress he emphasized every year once again.
The nobles had heard it all before, so they listened without particular strain. Unite in loyalty to the Emperor and advance for the good of the nation. It was not exactly a difficult command. Unless someone was genuinely plotting treason, it amounted to little more than a New Year's greeting of "Have a good year."
"Crown Prince, say a word as well."
Just when it seemed the closing address would end without incident, it suddenly took a hard turn. The closing address that concluded the New Year's Audience — and now the Emperor was handing its finale over to the Crown Prince.
A ripple of shock ran through the kneeling nobles at the sight of the aging sun so openly pushing forward the sun that would succeed him.
I'm going to lose my mind.
I was part of that ripple. This was terrifying. Was the Minister right — was an abdication event really going to drop within a year? If my luck was bad enough, I might be sitting in the Academy only to have to rush back and smash my forehead on the floor begging for mercy.
Unlike the restless nobles, the Crown Prince seemed to have been tipped off in advance. He bowed his head to the Emperor, then stepped forward.
"As His Majesty has decreed, the present is the bridge that joins past and future. We must not take the legacy we have inherited for granted, nor merely live for the present — we must look toward the future."
A statement that did not differ greatly from the Emperor's closing address. That was only natural. For the Crown Prince to say something that contradicted the Emperor at a moment like this would have been far stranger.
In the first place, the Emperor had only told him to say a word in order to give him presence. He had not truly wanted anything special.
"But there is no need to be impatient. A bridge hastily thrown together will collapse, and what we desire is a bridge that will endure for more than a thousand years."
…Was it just my imagination? That sounded like a declaration of war that said, I am going to work you all forever.
"And so I shall simply wait. For those of you who will spend the present together with the Imperial House — and for the treasures who will, one day, succeed you in serving the Imperial House."
As he spoke those words, the Crown Prince's gaze slid deliberately toward me. That blatant look made my hands and feet go cold and my eyes threaten to well up.
Looking at me while saying that was too much. It was a clear hint that he intended to work the me who was alive right now for all I was worth, and then cheerfully work any children I produced as well.
You son of a bitch.
No wonder he had been so quiet at the luncheon. He had been saving up this dagger all along.
The New Year's Audience of the year 1378 of the Sacred Calendar drew to a close. Apart from the grim prophecy the Crown Prince had hurled at the end, it had been a fairly decent New Year's Audience.
I had taken some emotional damage because of the Bar/ji, but I decided to tell myself it was fine either way.
"I shall call upon your domain before long to pay my respects."
"Haha, come whenever it suits you. I shall await you with a glad heart."
Seeing off my parents-in-law took priority over my own minor wounds.
The Iron Blood Duke and Marquis Iones had already departed; Count Planbel and Baron Attini would soon return as well. These were people who rarely gathered in one place, so I would have liked them to linger, but every one of them held a domain. They needed to get back and handle their work as soon as possible — how could I possibly keep them?
Moreover, just as the Emperor summoned the titled nobility for the New Year's Audience, it was customary for a lord to summon his vassals and enjoy a banquet. Unless I wanted to stick the label of "noble who ignores custom" on my fathers-in-law, I had to let them go.
"To tell the truth, I was quite worried that my only daughter never came home — but now I can finally set my mind at ease."
Baron Attini, far less awkward than when we first met, spoke with a smile. The smile was warm; the content of what he said was rather embarrassing.
Ever since entering the Academy, Luise had not returned home even once. During the term she stayed at the Academy; during vacation she stayed at my estate. Thinking of it that way, she was a flaming filial daughter if ever there was one. Not a pink capybara, but a fire-attribute capybara, was she?
"I had the same concern. I never expected to find kinship over something like this."
Count Planbel, standing beside him, burst into laughter at Baron Attini's words. Sadly, Irina was a flaming filial daughter nearly on par with Luise herself.
"…I am sorry. I should have sent them home sooner."
But I bore a large share of the blame for turning Luise and Irina into flaming filial daughters. When I bowed my head in apology, both fathers-in-law shook their heads.
"Still, she writes diligently. And there is nowhere safer than at the side of the Audit Department Chief."
"I can only be grateful that you would say so."
Thank goodness. They saw me as a reliable son-in-law rather than a plunderer who had kidnapped and imprisoned their precious daughters… I was truly relieved…
Only after offering Baron Attini and Count Planbel several more apologies and words of thanks was I finally able to see every set of in-laws off. The next time we all gathered would be for the wedding.
"With four sets of in-laws, even seeing them off is a job of work."
"Indeed it is."
Once the farewells were done, Mother, who had been speaking with the mothers-in-law, quietly approached. The family head had already returned because of Imperial Diet business.
In any case, when I turned my gaze to Mother, a smile still lingered on her face. For some reason she seemed to be smiling every time I saw her during this New Year's Audience period.
So she is someone who can smile like this.
It was a little strange. She was usually dignified, and brightness was not exactly her strong suit — but a eldest son's marriage was a cheat key from a parent's point of view.
"Are you returning as well, Mother?"
"With the lord away, at least his wife must keep her place."
An obvious question received an obvious answer, so I nodded. If the family head had been dragged off to the Diet, the wife had to return, did she not? No matter how well the steward held the fort, the lord's household needed to be present for work to run smoothly.
…Except one member of the lord's household was still left on the domain.
"Erich is there as well. There is no need for you to hurry."
"That child is still unskilled at the work."
When I mentioned Erich, Mother gently shook her head. Come now — who is skilled at their work from the very beginning? I myself had risen to this position by being worked into the ground while knowing nothing at all.
But I thought I understood why Mother was drawing the line, so I let it pass. When the succession was already firmly settled, suddenly having another son involve himself in domain affairs could only sow needless confusion among the vassals.
"Besides, Erich is busy spending time with Sera."
Or was it? Was she not worried about succession-structure chaos after all, but about something else entirely?
At the sight of Mother's mouth curling up even further, I quietly averted my eyes. Well, whatever the reason, what did it matter? The result was the same either way.
"Mother is leaving. Everyone, go and pay your respects."
And the moment I looked away, I gestured to the daughters-in-law who had been maintaining a proper distance. On this final stretch of the journey, she would be even happier if she received a send-off from her daughters-in-law.
Indeed, when Mother found herself surrounded by the five of them and receiving their greetings, she did not know what to do with herself.
So this was filial piety… It was the first time in my life I had ever done it.
The New Year's Audience was already over. The wedding was only three days away. I could not understand why time was flowing so quickly.
Of course I did not wish the wedding day would never come — yet somehow time seemed to be moving even faster than usual. There had been days that felt like a whole month, so why now?
"I prayed to Enen every day. That I wanted to put on my wedding dress even one day sooner."
"What a charming prayer. I am sure Enen Himself wishes to see Miss Christina in her dress as well."
I managed an awkward smile at Miss Christina's beaming words.
Praying would not actually make time move faster, but I could not help feeling strangely moved. Or perhaps Miss Christina would have been well suited to the path of a priestess. That would explain why her prayers were so effective.
Incredible — a being who answered prayers in person… Was it not a waste of talent for such a person to work as an assistant teacher…?
"Do you… want to see it as well, Mister Lafayette?"
A soft laugh slipped out at the sight of Miss Christina twisting shyly in place.
"Of course. If it were possible, I would like to see it today."
Yes — if the wedding was already this close, I might as well enjoy it. Besides, Miss Christina was not a problematic person in any way.
When we first met, I had never imagined our relationship would develop like this, but the more we met, the better our conversations went and the more at ease I felt. Better this than being tied into a political marriage with some strange young lady somewhere.
When I answered firmly with that feeling, Miss Christina grew even more embarrassed and flushed red. Truly, it put my heart at ease. After dealing with the cutthroat young ladies who thrived in high society, seeing such an innocent reaction felt like healing itself.
"You two are about to become husband and wife, and you are still using honorifics?"
While I was trying to settle my fluttering heart, the Minister who had lent us the estate walked naturally into the room.
"Uncle!"
"Yes, your uncle is here. Have you been well?"
And at the sight of Miss Christina greeting him so happily, he wore a warm smile so gentle it was almost frightening enough to haunt my dreams.
I'm going to lose my mind.
No matter how many times I saw it, I could not get used to it. It was astonishing that that man was capable of making such an expression at all.
The only smile I knew from the Minister was the murderous one he wore right before tearing a person apart.
Of course I did not say that out loud. In Miss Christina's heart, the Minister was a kind and dependable uncle.
…Kind…
Have all the kind people already died?
My head hurt.